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Sex Addiction - Is It Real?
The problem with defining sex as an addiction may lie in the fact that it is an innate biological function in a human being.
Unlike alcohol and drugs most forms of sexual behavior are seen as perfectly normal.
However, in common with other forms of addictive behavior, the line between healthy and unhealthy is crossed when the behavior becomes uncontrollable.
This lack of control can be recognized by the lengths a person is prepared to go to, to continue certain behaviors, despite obvious life damaging consequences.
Also loss of control is experienced over the rate or frequency a person indulges in their sexual actions.
This loss of control is referred to as, ‘acting out’. The fact that a person is using sex as an addictive medium is not the real issue. What makes any activity addictive is the personal loss of control that is experienced. Often despite this loss of control being recognized by others, the addict lives in a state of denial.
This denial is necessary to enable the addiction to continue and is often a source of intense frustration to those close to the addict. ‘Why’ they ask ‘can he/she not see what they are doing to themselves’ofcourse the fact is that denial is both a cause of addiction and a consequence of it. Without denial the addiction cannot continue.
One of the main recovery points in addiction treatment is that the sufferer must reach their personal ‘rock bottom’. This ‘rock bottom’ is the point at which the sufferer is confronted with the reality of their dilemma and denial no longer works in the way it formerly did.
Sex addiction denial is often supported by society itself. Sex addiction is seen as funny or characterized as an excuse men use to justify bad behavior. Clearly some people may use addiction as an excuse, but this does not remove the reality that sex addiction does exist, and is a very serious spiritual illness with often catastrophic personal and family consequences.
Sex as an addictive medium is complex, and is often likened to overeating. Sex addiction comes in many different forms and ranges from solitary compulsive masturbation to serious criminal offenses against other people. But the one deciding factor in addiction is, whether the behavior is compulsive and driven by an obsession over which the person has no control using his/her own resources.
Obsessive compulsive behavior creates spiritual bankruptcy in a person leading to further loss of control. This further loss of control leads to a vicious cycle making the life of the addict unmanageable. When an addict reaches this stage in their progressive illness, no amount of good intentions is of any use whatsoever.
Sex addiction like any other can be recovered from. The first step in recovery is a full and unconditional acceptance that you are a sex addict and require help.
Gerry Savage uses his personal experiences of recovery over 30 years, writing articles that are useful in addiction recovery.
His articles reflect his understanding that a full and meaningful recovery require a fundamental personality change.
He outlines in simple terms how this fundamental personality change can be brought about.
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